Within the United Kingdom, identity fraud has become one of

highest rating crimes to date. The UK government estimates

that each year identity fraud costs them 1.3 Billion.

Identity fraud has worked because many companies and people

in general have been convinced in some way to hand over

their items, documents or money. Identity fraud can remain

undetected for several months before anyone realizes what

has been done.

The UK has come up with an idea that is due in the year

2007. They intend to issue Identification cards that

contain information biometrically about the individual.

This information could come in the form of fingerprints or

an iris scan. Many people do not believe this will solve

the problem. No matter what the government does to protect

your identity, one thing will always remain the same. The

protection of your identity is largely your concern.

There are a few things that you can do in efforts to

prevent identity theft. This of course, is no guarantee,

but it is a great step in protecting yourself from thieves

and fraud.

When you are cleaning out your desk, do not simply throw

your personal items away. Items such as bank statements,

credit card statements, receipts and utility bills should

be destroyed. You could burn these items or obtain a

shredder. A shredder can do multiple things; it can destroy

your personal documents as well as compact discs or floppy

disks that could contain identifying information.

Additionally, some shredders will shred a credit card as

well.

Protect your credit cards just as you would your cash.

When you receive a new credit card, it should be signed by

you immediately. If you must destroy a credit card, you

should shred it by either using a shredder or cutting it

up thoroughly with scissors. If your credit card should

become stolen or lost, report it to the credit card

companies instantly, this will prevent the card from being

used. Another thing many people do not consider, is when

you are dining out, be watchful of letting your card out

of sight. One popular fraud is to simply take an imprint

or write down the numbers for use later.

Lastly, when you receive your credit card or bank

statements open and review them immediately. If you see

anything out of the ordinary upon the statements, you

should call the company right away and begin a

investigation into it. Additionally, if you should ever

notice your statement has not arrived on time, you should

make a telephone call to the company to investigate this.

It is possible that is has been routed to an address other

than your own.

Jeff Lakie is a contributing author at our website where

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